


Making Things Bloom

by Desdemonaspace (Ezagaaikwe)



Category: Something New (2006)
Genre: F/M, Interracial Marriage, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 07:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17219507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezagaaikwe/pseuds/Desdemonaspace
Summary: A ficlet based upon the movieSomething New, about a somewhat workaholic African-American professional woman, who, after a fraught courtship, marries a white landscape architect.





	Making Things Bloom

The obstetrician and ultrasound tech left the room so Kenya could get dressed.

“Twins!" Brian crowed. "You are the most efficient woman I know - our family is _made_.” He kissed his wife exuberantly. “I’m full of name ideas.”

“You’re full of something, all right.” Kenya returned the kiss, but her eyes drifted below her husband’s belt buckle. They exchanged a private grin, and then with a grimace, she shifted her position on the ultrasound table, easing the small of her back into something resembling comfort. 

“Full of ideas, full of names, full of love for my beautiful wife and babies...” He tenderly caressed the slight bulge of his wife’s abdomen. She covered his hand with hers.

He helped her slide her jeans up her ankles. “Your mom wanted to name you Tiffany—”

“No! No luxury brand names. No Chanel (who was an anti-Semite!), no Prada, no Armani, and no Mercedes.”

“Which is a perfectly good Spanish girl’s name.” He enjoyed sparring with her.

Kenya went on, “No Bambi or Candi—”

Brian nodded. "Strippers' names.”

“No Jaden, Kayden—”

“Or bin Laden,” he agreed gravely.

She said, “I want a girl’s name you can make nicknames from when she’s small, but is a dignified CEO name when she’s thirty. Elizabeth, Alexandra—”

“Kind of queeny, but OK. Hey, Alix!” He spelled it. “Wait, wasn’t she one of the Romanovs? No, there's bad juju there - naming a kid after one of them.”

“Alix McQueen-Kelly has a nice ring to it. But it sounds too much like Alix & Kelly.”

“Huh?”

“My wedding dress was Alix & Kelly. Will the babies be McQueen-Kelly or Kelly-McQueen?” They had kept their own surnames when they married, but hadn’t discussed one for their future children.

“I like McQueen-Kelly. Ladies first.” He kissed her again. “Oh, I know! For a boy: Tyrone.”

Kenya frowned. “I don’t like Afrocentric names, unless they’re legitimately African, or like my name, a place name. But I really don’t like place names. Chelsea, Brittany, or worse, _Britney_ —” She made a sour face.

“Or Chad, which is an actual country in Africa. But Tyrone is a county in Ireland, and what better name than Tyrone for a kid whose last name is Kelly?” Brian grinned at her.

Kenya was starting to enjoy herself. “Why not South Side, or Watts?” she teased. 

“I know: Melody and Percussion." Brian choked down laughter.

"Now that's just silly." Kenya grew serious. “What about your mother’s name?”

“Agnes? I loved my mother, but please! Nothing too old-fashioned, and nothing that other kids can make into a mean nickname. I went to school with an Elizabeth the mean kids called Lizard Breath. Hey, _Aretha!_ ” Brian was inordinately fond of Aretha Frankin.

“Well, we don’t have to decide yet.” Kenya just wanted to go home and soak in the tub, then ask Brian for a back rub. She sighed.

On the drive home, Brian said, “You know, our house is perfect for us, but finding out that it’s twins... maybe we should think about someplace bigger." He shot a look to his right, gauging her reaction. "You're not giving up your study, and the guest room's now the nursery, but a boy and a girl — they’ll need their own rooms eventually.”

With an almost inaudible whimper, Kenya ducked her head, like a turtle withdrawing into its shell. 

Brian stroked her hand and went on, “I know, here we are, you pregnant, and me talking about selling and moving. But there’s something I wanted to run by you—”

Kenya braced herself.

“We’re doing OK, money-wise,” he said. “More than OK, since you made partner, and you love your job. The beauty of me being self-employed - I could farm out the heavy work to my guys, and just do the design, but I like to keep my hand in. I’m a perfectionist that way, ‘cause it’s _my_ reputation.” He frowned. ”So here’s what I was thinking - I could finish the jobs I have now, then shelve the whole thing until the kids are in school. Be a house-husband. You know, like John Lennon, but without the heroin. What do you think?”

Tears spilled down Kenya’s cheeks. “It’s a d-dream come true. I was so afraid, both of us working, and the babies being looked after by a _nanny_ …” Her voice went up half an octave. She stopped until she got her voice under control. “All the nanny-cams in the world wouldn’t make me feel right about it. Brian, that’s so good of you, and the tax advantages—”

“Hey, it’s no sacrifice. I don’t want a stranger raising our kids, either. I’ll dig having the kids on a blanket in the backyard while I landscape the new place—”

“Under a sun shade,” Kenya put in. “And no pool or cacti.”

“Right - no pool until they can swim like little otters. And a move, if we decide on it - we hire professional packers. All you have to do is agree - if you _do_ agree - and come with me on the house hunt. No, better yet, let me hunt, and thin them down to one or two real possibilities, and look at them. Say yes, and leave the rest to me.”

Brian took another look at his wife. He could tell by Kenya’s relaxing posture and drying tears that they were onto a plan. “Our house is great—”

“The garden is _heaven_.” Kenya began to weep again.

He went on, “There’ll be no problem selling it. Seven months is more than enough time to find a bigger place, hire packers, close, close, and move. Make the new back yard heaven, too. You could even stay with your parents while I organize things—”

“No! They’ll fuss over me and make me more nervous than I already am. I want to be home with you.” She slid her hand into his.

“You're the boss, baby.” He pulled into their driveway. “You and me, Kenya. And baby makes three, er, four. Hey, what about calling them Joyce and Edmond after your mom and dad? They'd like that.”

“No, I like Aretha and Tyrone.” She blew her nose, smiled, and kissed her husband.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me, but are being used for amusement only, and all rights remain with the makers of Something New.
> 
> Note: Roger Ebert loved this movie. Read his review [here](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/something-new-2006). See it while it's still on Netflix, for free!


End file.
